Start Date
26-5-2026 11:00 AM
End Date
26-5-2026 11:15 AM
Description
Inspired by the work of the late Manchán Magan, this paper examines Irish food and hospitality through the lens of historical lexicography using the 1927 edition of Fr Patrick Dinneen’s Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla as a linguistic “time capsule”. By examining Irish words connected with everyday eating, the paper traces how these words embody resilience, reciprocity, and hope in the face of recurring crises such as famine, emigration, and political upheaval. The paper also draws attention to roles associated with food provision and banqueting, underlining the long-standing importance of hospitality in Irish society. This approach uncovers how hospitality was understood and valued in Ireland up to the early twentieth century. In doing so, it highlights a gap in much existing research on Irish food culture, which often relies on anglophone sources and has a limited engagement with material in the Irish language.
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Included in
Food in Dinneen’s Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla
Inspired by the work of the late Manchán Magan, this paper examines Irish food and hospitality through the lens of historical lexicography using the 1927 edition of Fr Patrick Dinneen’s Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla as a linguistic “time capsule”. By examining Irish words connected with everyday eating, the paper traces how these words embody resilience, reciprocity, and hope in the face of recurring crises such as famine, emigration, and political upheaval. The paper also draws attention to roles associated with food provision and banqueting, underlining the long-standing importance of hospitality in Irish society. This approach uncovers how hospitality was understood and valued in Ireland up to the early twentieth century. In doing so, it highlights a gap in much existing research on Irish food culture, which often relies on anglophone sources and has a limited engagement with material in the Irish language.